baron & crow serial: chapter three

---------The last place on earth where I would want to find myself is in an empty room. Empty rooms fill up quickly with detritus in all of its unsavory forms. I’d take a packed stadium any day over an empty room. The only thing worse than an empty room is an empty room with Ivan in it, if I were to meet Ivan there would have to be a crowd around, and even then things could get dicey. I would have suggested Shea, but the Mets were having a rough time of it and I wasn’t going to go out to Queens with Ivan to listen to the crickets chirp. As for the Yankees, there was no way that you would find me wasting time on 161st Street. Grand Central would have to do.
---------I told Ivan to meet me there during the evening rush. I didn’t give him any specifics on where exactly in the station this would take place. I’d find him, he didn’t need to worry.
---------The place was getting crowded. I took a spot upstairs, out of view of the melee in the Grand Lobby where I could watch the movement of the Metro North commuters.
---------Time passed, but I was in no rush. I reveled at the chaos that was ensuing below; the businessmen late for their trains, bloated and out of breath, the trains late for the businessmen who would now miss out on the cocktail hour up in Westchester or Greenwich, or wherever they were heading, and most importantly the legs of all the beautiful young ladies who were looking their best for work-a-day Manhattan.
---------I was focused on the legs of a gorgeous redhead when I felt the barrel of a gun pushed against the small of my back.
---------“I thought that you were going to find me.”
---------“I thought the same,” I said, still watching the redhead below. “But this is a refreshing change-up. You made things a hell of a lot easier on me.”
---------Ivan began to frisk me.
---------“Is that necessary?” I asked.
---------“It’s better safe than sorry,” he said almost in a whisper.
---------“That’s true. I’ve got a gun in the right hand pocket of my coat. All that you needed to do was ask.”
---------He took my gun and stepped back. I turned towards him.
---------“You’re looking good.”
---------“Thanks.” He kept his gun on me. “My wife, she’s been on my ass. She started in on me for getting fat, and how the extra weight really wasn’t appealing, so I’ve been working out.”
---------“It’s a good woman that you have, Ivan. Someone needs to keep you in line.”
---------“How about you?”
---------“I’ve been surviving off of French fries.”
---------“French fries are one of the prime causes of heart attacks. They’re right up there with cheeseburgers, pierogies and schnitzel,” Ivan stated with concern.
---------“All things I adore. Do you want to go outside for a smoke?”
---------“That would invalidate the whole point of meeting in Grand Central. Come with me.”
---------We made our way to an elevator, and headed up. When we got off the noise of the lobby was not to be heard.
---------“I didn’t realize that Grand Central had so many floors,” I said, unnerved by the calm of the surroundings.
---------“Most people don’t. That’s the charm of the place. I was delighted when you suggested that we meet here. Although, I do have tickets for the Yankees tonight. It would have been pleasant to have gone up to the Bronx. You could have gotten yourself some fries.”
---------“The game doesn’t start for another hour. We can still go downstairs and catch the express and be there before they start singing The Star Spangled Banner.”
---------“That we could,” Ivan said as he unlocked the door to a room at the end of the hallway. “But you hate the Yankees, and I wouldn’t want to put you through that.”
---------He pushed me into the room. It was empty.